The meeting would reportedly take place in "the next week or so," in Harper's hometown of Las Vegas. The Phillies already met with Harper's agent, Scott Boras, during the winter meetings last month in Vegas.

Such meetings can mean nothing … or they can be a key step toward a contract. The White Sox have reportedly already had two face-to-face meetings with the Nationals outfielder. ESPN reported Wednesday that the White Sox and Phillies are the only teams willing to offer Harper a 10-year contract.

Machado is expected to make his decision before Harper, possibly within the next week or two, according to Salisbury. On the other hand, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that Harper might not choose a destination until February.

And don't count out the possibility of him returning to the Nationals. Although he reportedly turned down a mammoth 10-year, $300 million deal with the club last year, Passan reports he's met with Nats reps "multiple times" this offseason.